Author Description

Stuff' is the name we give today as well to everyday possessions as to illegal drugs. That can't be a coincidence. Through the decline of craftsmanship and the ease of buying, the outlook of a lot of our 'things' has acquired an almost anesthetizing naturalness. Prior to the mass fabrication of utensils there was a long, almost Darwinist period in which form and function were fine tuned by trial and error to form an ideal, practical shape. That shape determines the right ellipse of a good shoe lift, the dimensions and weight of a darts arrow, the colors and maneuverability of a fly screen, the rounded edges of dice. That dug-in, silent design gives everyday objects a recognizability and simplicity that requires no further analysis. What poetry can do with words, D.D.Trans (Fank Tuytschaever) does with domestic, garden- and kitchen utensils; with a small twist he short circuits the alliance between fabricated things and their meaning. But being simple is not identical to being simplistic. Guileless but careful he bends things, kindled by an association, a whiff of rebellion, and a subcutaneous, understated melancholy. Exhibition: Galerie Valerie Traan, Antwerp, Belgium (13.04. - 03.06.2017).